51-55

The contemporaneity of P. A. Michelis

Ελληνική Εταιρεία Αισθητικής / Hellenic Society for Aesthetics

• Φατούρος, Δημήτρης Α.

Art is an expression of philosophy. The native moment of thought, the questioning of a question, uneasiness, doubt and anxiety, underlies the creative thinking of human community. This fundamental relationship permeates the work of Panayotis A. Michelis and his references go back to Aristotle and Plato, in trying to clarify the continuous interaction of individual and collective life.The Greek word stochasmos -not simply reflection but thinking, wondering about a goal, about an intention- describes the beginning, the starting point of the philosophical inquiry, which, in the actual conditions of human community, is under continuous pressure to eliminate the strength of this endeavour by reducing it to a classified way of thinking and turning the richness of the knowledge into a tool.Michelis proposes a personal approach to Einfühlung and to the collectivity and social conditions. Following his understanding of wholeness, he gives an open and interactive notion of the well- known Gestalt. This is why, in order to express the multi-dimensional reality, instead of using the neutral term function of a work of architecture, of art, etc., he proposes the expression orgasm of functions, which includes sensitivities of the body along with the imaginary side. According to this approach, two subjects-objects of contemporary life are examined, the ruin and the industrial design. The ruin is not simply the torso of a “ruined” statue but it is also a completed work of art. In the same vein, industrial design is not considered simply as a functional object but as a form of contemporary art, an object of high complexity incorporating societal needs.The reading of Michelis offers the possibility for thoughtful research on contemporary conditions of human community and for productive dialogue between the variations and differentiations of previous periods and the actual conditions, so that values and fundamental needs represent a continuous field of human thinking.

• Arts
• Philosophy, Ethics and Religion

• Τέχνη